Your View: Writer doesn't recognize dangers on campus

May 04, 2008 01:02 am

— Steve Bohnenblust recently wrote a negative letter to the editor about my proposal to allow Conceal and Carry permit-holding students to use their permits on campus.
A quote from his letter reads: “There is no safer or welcoming place than U. S. college campuses. Diverse groups — often with long and bitter historical hatred — manage to peacefully coexist and interact in an atmosphere of tolerance, respect and, yes, safety.” Bohnenblust needs to take his Web browser off fantasyland.com and click the Web site to the Department of Education for campus crimes. Researching, he will find as of April 8 there have been 15 serious crime alerts given at the U of M. In a recent survey the Minnesota Daily found that only 7 percent of students thought the campus was becoming more safe, 29 percent said they felt the campus was becoming more dangerous and the remainder thought there was no change.
Page after page details stories of statewide campus crimes involving robbery, assault and rape. The most recent, this past weekend, a forcible rape in the U of M dorm. Bohnenblust needs to realize that once the “crazy” comes through your son’s classroom door or a rapist comes through your daughter’s dorm room door, no amount of increased security or disarming of the student population can help them.
Bohnenblust needs to trust 21-year-old permit carrying trained students to defend themselves from violent crime at the moment it happens. It only has to happen once if it’s your family. These aren’t kids. They’re 21-year-old responsible students.